Teachers Share This Year’s Best Classroom Moments So Far
‘Teacher-student relationships’
When I agreed to answer this question, my school year hadn’t even started. There were more questions than answers. I focused my time reading up on the latest, trendy remote learning technologies and scouring for ideas from other teachers who had already embarked on this brave new world. I expected to write about an innovative lesson where students took great risks or where I used an amazing new technology that magically kept my students engaged. I am here to report that this was not the case. It turns out that the best thing that has happened this year didn’t happen in a classroom but goes back to the foundation for all learning—no matter what form it takes—and the essence of what makes an educator a teacher in the eyes of their students.
Once the dust settled, our district developed a hybrid model with synchronous learning through Zoom. Families could select fully remote learning or a hybrid model where students attend school 2-3 days/week alternating with synchronous learning at home. This meant that my classes were a mix of hybrid students in front of me and the rest Zooming in remotely. I got used to seeing the faces of my remote students without their masks on. I recognized my hybrid students by their masked faces on their days in person and got accustomed to seeing their entire smiles on the days they would Zoom in. Despite the obstacles, like all teachers, we strove during those first weeks to create personal relationships similar to what could be developed full time, in person.
Our school administered the PSAT on Oct. 14, just over four weeks from the start of the shool year. Full-time distance learning families had the choice to send their children into the school building to take the test. For many of my freshman full-time distance learners, this was their first time in the building navigating the halls to find their testing rooms. Teachers had responsibilities that day as test proctors or monitoring restrooms, which was my job.
I had hardly gotten the restroom doors unlocked before a student called my name. I turned to see a masked student whose eyes only peeked out over the top of his mask. I hesitated because I did not recognize this student. He quickly sensed my confusion and identified himself.
“Miss, it’s me! Mike!”
Now, I had several students named Mike, and, at first, the name did not register. I finally realized I didn’t recognize Mike because he was a full-time distance learner who I had never seen with a mask on. He was happy to have bumped into me, and we marveled at the coincidence that we would see each other on this day in such a large building. After more chatting, Mike returned to his testing session but continued to come visit me during the breaks. He was excited to be in the building, finding his way around, and being part of a school again. It meant a lot to him, he told me, to meet me in person, to see my classroom after the testing was done, and to meet my paraprofessional who works in the same class. He remarked again and again how great it was to meet me and he was appreciative that I took time to talk to him and share in his excitement at us being together in person. As the dismissal bell rang, he commented, surprisingly, how nice my paraprofessional and I were. The joy on his face and the thrill he expressed to be back in school were the best things that have happened to me so far this year.
No matter how much we struggle with these new distance learning formats and worry that we are not doing enough to connect, strong personal connections are still being made in spite of all the obstacles. Our students continue to reach out to us, modeling how to form bonds in these unusual times. The challenge for teachers now is not to lose sight, in spite of all the demands placed on us, of these bonds. These relationships are the key that turns an educator, in the eyes of their students, into their very own teacher.